Scuttlebutt
by Kassia525
Summary: Office gossip gets a little out of hand…


This takes place before Dog Robber I, so anything taking place from there on (i.e. Gunny leaving) hasn't happened in this timeline.  
  
******  
  
November 20, 2001  
  
1238 Zulu  
  
JAG Headquarters  
  
Falls Church, Virginia  
  
"Mackenzie," Mac answered the phone on her desk, finishing the sentence she was writing as she spoke. She hadn't been in the office for too long, so she had a pretty good idea who would be on the other line since she technically was in too early for it to be a business call.  
  
"Good morning, Marine."  
  
She smiled at the sound of the voice of her caller. "I was wondering when you would call today."  
  
"I thought this would be the best time to talk to you since you have to be in court this morning. I figured you'd be in your office already because you like to get to work before the sun rises," Harm joked.  
  
"You know my schedule too well. And for your information, the sun was already up when I got in this morning. And speaking of this morning, I love the roses. I wasn't expecting anything till you got back, so they were a nice surprise."  
  
"I thought it was the least I could do since I have to be out on assignment for your birthday. Do you know how hard it is to find someone to deliver flowers at 5:45 in the morning?" She laughed merrily, which made Harm's face break out in a grin. The thought of Mac in her office, laughing as she talked to him made the cold gray metal of the carrier seem a little cheerier.  
  
"I'm surprised the poor kid didn't fall asleep on my doorstep," she confessed. "You must have paid him really well to get up early enough to deliver those before I left my apartment."  
  
"Well, I figured it would be smarter to send them to you at home. Even though yellow roses are supposed to mean friendship, I'm sure sending you flowers would have started all sorts of rumors at work."  
  
"Good idea, though I think the rumors are already there. Roses from a secret admirer would have just added fuel to the flame," she chuckled. Office gossip would always be there, whether you worked for the military or for a multimillion-dollar company.  
  
She could almost hear him smiling over the phone line as she wrote a quick note in the margin of the brief in front of her; she had been attempting to finish reading the last paragraph since the phone rang. Finally giving up and laying her pen down, she leaned back in her chair. "So how is your investigation going?"  
  
"You know-the usual. I talk to a few people, take a few statements, formulate a theory or two that piss a couple people off." Her laughter reached his ears again. He went on to describe how he had managed to alienate the XO, who was really unhappy with him. Fortunately, the CAG was on Harm's side. Apparently, a pilot had to have an emergency appendectomy, and Harm was conveniently filling in for him at the moment. Mac knew she would hear all about his Tomcat adventures before she hung up with him that morning.  
  
  
  
1246 Zulu  
  
Meanwhile, out in the bullpen.  
  
As soon as Petty Officer Tiner walked into the bullpen he spotted Gunnery Sergeant Galindez already sitting at his desk with a cup of coffee. Without bothering to take his cover to his own desk, Tiner immediately walked deliberately toward the other enlisted man. "Gunny, you'll never guess what I overheard on my way out last night!" he exclaimed, sounding like he was going to burst if he didn't tell someone this new juicy bit of gossip immediately.  
  
Gunny didn't even look away from the computer at his desk. The bullpen was relatively quiet for the moment due to the earliness of the hour, and Gunny thought if he ignored Tiner, he would be left alone to finish checking his email in peace while the office was still relatively empty. Commander Rabb's office was empty since he was away conducting an investigation. The door to Colonel MacKenzie's office was closed and the blinds were drawn, but he'd heard the murmur of her voice intermittently since he'd arrived five minutes earlier. He assumed she was on the phone, beginning a new day at work early, as usual. A few other people were wandering by either on their way to the kitchen for their morning coffee, or leaving the kitchen with a steaming mug in hand. Commander Turner, Lieutenants Roberts and Sims, and Admiral Chegwidden hadn't materialized yet, but most likely all of them would be in within the next 10 minutes, and then the daily bustle would begin at JAG Headquarters.  
  
Tiner was standing directly in front of Gunny's desk now, practically hopping up and down. Gunny debated whether or not he even really wanted to hear whatever Tiner had to tell him as he scanned the next email in his inbox. Finally, he sighed and looked up because it was evident that Tiner wasn't going to go away until he had passed on his gossip.  
  
"Yes, Tiner?" he said, making sure to include a minor hint of annoyance.  
  
Tiner either didn't notice or didn't care that Gunny wasn't sharing his enthusiasm. "Last night, I was here late downloading an upgrade for the internet browser on the Admiral's computer. Anyway, as I was leaving, I overheard the cleaning ladies." he leaned in conspiratorially, even though there was no one else close enough to Gunny's desk to hear, ".they found a pregnancy test while they were cleaning out the ladies bathroom."  
  
Gunny raised his eyebrows, wishing he had trusted his instincts and continued to ignore the petty officer. "And that means exactly. what?"  
  
Tiner looked at the Gunnery Sergeant, flabbergasted that he hadn't grasped the meaning of what he had just told him. "It means that one of the women in this office is pregnant."  
  
"Well, which one?" Gunny asked, still not too interested in this supposedly earth-shattering piece of information that Tiner had so graciously decided to share with him.  
  
Tiner's exuberance melted away for a second as he answered simply, "I don't exactly know that yet. but I plan to find out."  
  
"Glad to know that you have plenty to keep you busy working for the JAG," Gunny replied dryly. He looked past Tiner and saw Lt. Loren Singer walk into the bullpen. She stiffly walked toward the kitchen, her cover wedged awkwardly under her arm. He eyed her warily as he absently told Tiner, "If you want interesting gossip, next time find something with names attached."  
  
Before Tiner could walk away, though, he nodded in the direction of Singer. Tiner turned to look, but since Singer had already disappeared into the kitchen, he saw nothing. He turned back to Gunny wearing a befuddled expression. Gunny half-smiled at the confused young man. "Singer just graced us with her presence. I think she's waking up with her daily dose of caffeine. But what I was thinking of was something from this past weekend. I occasionally go out for a drink after work with a buddy of mine. I've seen Singer there, three sheets to the wind and making out with the nastiest guys you can find. I don't even want to know what they do after they leave together."  
  
Gunny let the end of that thought hang as Loren exited the kitchen and made her way through the bullpen, juggling her cover while trying to drink her coffee at the same time. Both men acknowledged her with a nod and a courteous, "Lieutenant" as she passed.  
  
The moment she was out of earshot, Tiner voiced an interesting thought that had come from the information Gunny had shared with him. "You don't think that Lt. Singer could be pregnant, do you?"  
  
"Don't you have something better to be doing?"  
  
The Admiral had snuck up behind the two men as they had continued to look in the direction that Lt. Singer had gone off in. At the sound of his voice, the two turned and snapped to attention.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir," Tiner immediately replied, "We didn't hear you come in."  
  
"No need to state the obvious, Tiner. At ease, gentlemen," he said, his mask of disapproval still on his face. He was already annoyed and the day had barely started. Hearing a noise, he cocked his head to the side as if listening intently. "Tiner, isn't that the telephone ringing at your desk?"  
  
Tiner looked towards his desk, and sure enough, the phone was impatiently ringing, waiting for someone to pick up the receiver. "Yes.yes, sir. I'll just. uh, go get that." he managed to stammer out as he backed away from his CO with as much dignity as he could possibly muster.  
  
Admiral Chegwidden watched Tiner retreat, then turned his attention back to the Gunny. "Since Tiner is indisposed at the moment, could you see to it that Colonel MacKenzie is in my office in ten minutes?" It was an order, not a question despite its polite interrogative construction.  
  
"Yes, sir," he answered automatically.  
  
"Thank you, Gunny," he said, eyeing the officer with an expression that was formidable enough to intimidate the Gunnery Sergeant, even though he would never admit that fact to anyone. "I think I'm going to get myself a cup of coffee now."  
  
Gunny breathed a sigh of relief as the Admiral turned on his heel and walked to the kitchen. He had a few minutes before he had to disturb Colonel MacKenzie, so he made his way over to Tiner's desk. Tiner was hanging up the phone as he approached.  
  
"Do you think the Admiral overheard us?" Gunny asked cautiously.  
  
"I hope not," Tiner said, "but not much gets past him."  
  
"I've noticed that," Gunny said sarcastically. "So, do you really think Singer could be pregnant? She seems kind of hung over, and I don't think someone who just found out they were pregnant would go out and get drunk to celebrate."  
  
"I think you're right," Tiner said glumly. "But I think I know who it is. I just got off the phone with Lieutenant Sims. She's not feeling well this morning and wanted me to let the Admiral know she'd be in later if she was feeling better."  
  
"Morning sickness?" Gunny asked before he noticed the slightly alarmed look on Tiner's face. He figured out a second too late that the Admiral had returned.  
  
"Gunny, didn't I ask you to have Colonel MacKenzie report to my office ASAP?"  
  
"Yes, sir. I'll get right on it, sir," he snapped out, walking directly to the Colonel's office this time.  
  
Admiral Chegwidden shook his head, collecting his messages from Tiner.  
  
  
  
1315 Zulu  
  
Back in Mac's office.  
  
For the past 31 minutes and 25 seconds, Mac had been listening to Harm go on about flying patrols around the Iraqi border. She could hear the excitement in his voice as he related every last detail to her. She knew how happy he was when he was flying his Tomcats. She also knew that when the assignment was over, he would happily come back to JAG. and to her. She smiled at the thought as she absently wound the phone cord around her index finger.  
  
Gradually, the conversation had started moving away from Harm's current assignment as he ran out of things to tell her. "I'm sorry for boring you with all of this talk about flying, Mac. Thanks for humoring me, though. How's your argument for the big fraternization case coming along?" he asked, efficiently changing the subject to something that involved her.  
  
"Actually, Bud took over the case when you left. I decided with my workload it would be a good idea to stay as second chair. But I think it's going well and we'll be able to get a conviction unless Commander Turner somehow magically finds some evidence that isn't circumstantial." Looking up, she noticed Gunny with his head poked through the doorway behind the partially open door. She wondered how long he'd been there for a brief moment before turning her attention back to her phone call. "I'd love to talk longer, but I have to go. Some of us have to do actual work today."  
  
Gunny waited patiently as Mac listened to the voice on the other line. She pulled her finger from the cord that it had become tangled up in as she replied into the receiver, "Oh, that reminds me. I have a little surprise for you when you get back." There was another pause before she smiled, then answered smartly, "If I told you, then it wouldn't be a surprise! And I really have to go now. Call me when you know when you'll be back. bye."  
  
Gunny took her hanging up the phone as his cue to pass on his message, "The admirals wants you in his office ASAP, Colonel."  
  
She was already out of her chair and halfway to the door by this point. "Thanks, Gunny," she told him as she walked through the door and turned in the direction of her CO's office. The Gunnery Sergeant nodded to acknowledge her reply before he headed in the other direction on his way to dig up some previously requested files for Lieutenant Roberts.  
  
  
  
1342 Zulu  
  
A little later in the kitchen.  
  
"Are you sure she was talking to the Commander?" Tiner asked before popping the last piece of a powdered donut into his mouth.  
  
"Who else would she be casually talking about her case with? And who else is she expecting back here?" Gunny replied as soon as he swallowed the bite of crème-filled donut he'd been chewing. The two were standing in front of a pink pastry box, expanding upon their earlier conjectures as they ate. Despite his initial resistance to the validity of this piece of gossip, Gunny was now caught up in trying to figure out which woman in the office was pregnant. "Um, you've got powder all over you, Tiner."  
  
"Okay, so maybe she was talking to Commander Rabb," the petty officer said as he picked up a napkin and dusted the white powder off of his face and the front of his uniform. "What does that prove?"  
  
"You've seen the way they've been acting lately," Gunny said, exchanging his half-eaten donut for the cup of coffee next to him on the counter. "Ever since Colonel MacKenzie's wedding was canceled, things have been different between those two. I think that the Commander and the Colonel have secretly been dating, maybe that's even why the wedding was called off. But it can't be a coincidence that she's got some surprise for him when he gets back. I think her surprise is that she's pregnant."  
  
"Not possible," Bud startled them. They had been so into their donuts and their discussion that they hadn't noticed the Lieutenant walk up behind them. "They wouldn't risk a fraternization charge like that. Commander Rabb and Colonel Mackenzie aren't sleeping together, so there's no way she could be pregnant."  
  
"I should hope not," the admiral said indignantly from behind the three men. Gunny and Tiner turned to look at their superior officer wearing sufficiently chastised expressions-after all, this was the third time they'd been caught gossiping that morning and they hadn't been working for a full hour yet. Bud quickly grabbed a donut and silently wished he had just stayed out of their conversation.  
  
The admiral glared at his officers before snapping, "Get back to work!"  
  
Roberts was the first out of the kitchen with his prized donut. Gunny and Tiner followed just behind him. As they were exiting the kitchen, the admiral heard Tiner ask, "Do you think it could be Commander Brumby's baby?" Chegwidden couldn't help but chuckle at that comment. Tiner must not have paid much attention during the lesson on human reproduction when he was in high school if he believed that was actually a possibility. He found himself mentally calculating how far along Mac would be if that were the truth and shook his head in disgust. Gunny and Tiner definitely needed to something more productive to do with their free time. He'd find something to keep them busy, but for now, he focused on his current task: choosing one of the remaining donuts.  
  
  
  
1712 Zulu  
  
JAG Headquarters  
  
Falls Church, Virginia  
  
Court had just recessed for an hour lunch break. Commander Turner, as prosecutor on the Oakes fraternization case, was already enjoying his lunch in his office. Lieutenant Roberts and Colonel MacKenzie had stayed behind to confer with their client before heading back to their own respective offices. Upon entering the bullpen, Mac made a beeline for the kitchen. Visions of a steaming plate of lasagna danced through her head as her stomach growled impatiently. She made a mental note to remember to eat more than a donut for breakfast tomorrow.  
  
Bud headed to his office first. He wanted a few moments to process the morning's proceedings before heading to the kitchen. When he stepped into his office, he was surprised to see lunch already spread out for him on his desk. He couldn't help but smile when he saw a Post-It on top of the sandwich that simply said 'Love, Harriet'.  
  
"Hey, you." He turned around to see his wife beaming at him.  
  
"Thank you so much, sweetie!" he told her happily. She walked over to him and stole a quick kiss after discreetly making sure no one was looking their way. "I take it you're feeling better now?"  
  
"Well enough to be here anyway," she said.  
  
He motioned for her to pull a chair up to his desk as he sat down to inspect the feast in front of him. Harriet pulled a pack of crackers off the desk and tore open the wrapper. They had only a few minutes to themselves before they were interrupted.  
  
"Excuse me, sir, ma'am," came a tentative voice from the door. Harriet turned to see Bud's client, Ensign Oakes, standing at the door. "Could I talk to you for a minute, sir? It's about my case."  
  
"Can this wait till after lunch, Ensign?" he asked, looking longingly at his sandwich.  
  
"I'm really sorry about interrupting your lunch, but I think you need to know this now," she said anxiously.  
  
Harriet got the impression that she needed to leave so Bud could speak freely with his client. She grabbed a Sprite off of her husband's desk and stood. "I'll just go finish eating in the kitchen. Lieutenant, Ensign," she acknowledged both officers as she walked out and shut the door behind her.  
  
Ensign Oakes approached the desk and nervously took a seat. She stared blankly at the corner of Lieutenant Roberts' desk while her hands played with the edge of her cover.  
  
Bud swallowed a quick bite of sandwich before setting it to the side. "What can I do for you, Ensign?"  
  
She didn't look up as she took a deep breath, then quietly enunciated two words: "I'm pregnant."  
  
Bud was glad he wasn't eating at that particular moment because he probably would have choked on his sandwich. To his credit, he recovered quickly and immediately assumed his role of lawyer. "Is Lieutenant Newton the father?" he asked calmly, referring to her superior officer. When she nodded in affirmation, Bud got the sinking feeling that this case had just slipped through his hands.  
  
  
  
1721 Zulu  
  
Back in the kitchen.  
  
The lasagna had been good, but Mac was still hungry. She stood with one hand on the refrigerator door and leaned down to rummage through cartons and plastic containers with the other hand. She was having a hard time deciding what would appease her appetite.  
  
"Good afternoon, Colonel."  
  
Mac jumped slightly before it dawned on her that she wasn't alone in the kitchen. "Oh, Harriet. I didn't realize that anyone else was in here. I thought you weren't coming in today."  
  
Harriet decided not to point out that she had startled a Marine. She took another sip of her can of Sprite to wash down her lunch of saltine crackers before she answered, "I got in about an hour ago. How did court go this morning?"  
  
Mac groaned, turning her attention back to finding some food. "Please don't ask me about work. I just want to get away from it all for a while. and find something decent to eat."  
  
Harriet obeyed the request and continued to quietly nurse her soda. Mac emerged from the fridge a moment later with a small plastic tub. "Look what I found," she smiled. "Some of that spinach dip from our research cramming session a few nights back. Want to help me finish it off?"  
  
Harriet's face turned positively green when Mac opened the Tupperware bowl and plopped it down on the counter next to her pack of crackers. Once Harriet got a whiff of the dip, she turned and ran out of the kitchen, almost knocking Bud over on her way out.  
  
"Harriet, are you okay?" he asked, but she had already taken off toward the restrooms. Bud looked at the Colonel from where he stood in the doorway. She gave him a confused look. "She ate something that didn't' agree with her last night," he explained, then he saw the spinach dip. His face wrinkled up in disgust.  
  
"Bud, it's only dip. It won't kill you. You really should try it," she laughed, knowing he was going to say something about the chunky green paste. Spreading some dip on a cracker, she popped the snack into her mouth. Gunny walked past with an empty coffee cup and silently nodded at the officers as he made his way to the coffeepot.  
  
"Colonel, if I wouldn't touch that stuff before, I'm definitely not going to eat it now-that's what Harriet got sick on last night."  
  
Mac stopped chewing when she heard that. She swallowed with a grimace. "I think you just spoiled my appetite, Lieutenant."  
  
"I'm sorry, ma'am. I would have had to pull you away from your lunch anyway. Something has come up in the Oakes case."  
  
  
  
1744 Zulu  
  
The elevator dinged to signal its arrival. Harm stifled a yawn as the doors opened to reveal the JAG bullpen. He was tired after the long flight back, but he was happy to be back on solid ground again. The activity in the bullpen didn't stop as the elevator door silently slid shut behind him. Harm look around for a moment, then stepped towards his office.  
  
"You're back early, sir," he heard Harriet cheerfully address him. He smiled as he turned to face her.  
  
"The case wrapped up quicker than expected, so I thought I'd hop on the first flight off the carrier and surprise everyone."  
  
"Well, sir, I am surprised that you voluntarily left a bunch of Tomcats just to return to all of us," Harriet smiled back, knowing full well that there was one person in particular he wanted to surprise. After all this time, the Commander and the Colonel seemed to finally be moving toward a something more than friendship. Even if the two weren't yet admitting to themselves that they were interested in more, it was obvious to anyone who could pick up on all of the little signs that she'd been observing lately.  
  
Harm walked a few steps with Harriet before stopping in front of his office. "Harriet, you wouldn't happen to know if Mac stuck around here for lunch, would you?"  
  
Harriet kept her self-satisfied smile to herself when he confirmed her earlier thoughts with his question. "The Colonel was here, but you just missed her, sir. She and Lieutenant Roberts had to talk about their case before court resumes this afternoon."  
  
"Could you let me know when they get out later?"  
  
"Will do, sir," she replied, shifting the stack of files she was holding to her other arm.  
  
"Thanks, Lieutenant," he told her with a smile. He opened the door to his office and dropped off his things before reporting to Admiral Chegwidden. Ten minutes later, the Admiral had dismissed him with a minor drunk and disorderly case to keep him busy for the time being. Commander Rabb walked into his office still reading through the file. He glanced at the clock, mentally calculating how long it would take him to run out to talk to the owner of the pub. Figuring he had plenty of time to get back before Mac got out of court, he slid the file into his briefcase and grabbed his cover. Once more, he ran into Harriet on his way through the bullpen.  
  
"Leaving again so soon, Commander?" she asked, deducing from the case and cover in his hand that he was on his way out.  
  
"Duty calls," he said by way of explanation. He turned and flashed one of his famous smiles from inside the elevator. "I shouldn't be gone too long, Lieutenant. No one will even miss me."  
  
She watched the twin metal doors slip together noiselessly, then quietly said to herself, "You mean the Colonel won't have time to miss you."  
  
On his way out the door, Commander Turner heard her comment, but before he could ask her about it, she had turned and walked away. He looked at his watch and decided he's be better off leaving well enough alone. After all, he didn't want to risk another run-in with Colonel MacKenzie over speculations about whatever was going on between her and Harm.  
  
  
  
2035 Zulu  
  
Bud looked up from his paperwork to see Commander Rabb standing in the doorway to his office. If Bud didn't know better, he would have said that the Commander was fidgeting. "I didn't think you would be back for another day or so, sir," he said, secretly grateful for the break from writing.  
  
"Got back earlier than expected, Bud. Did your case wrap up early?" he asked casually, walking into the room. Having nothing better to do with his hands, Harm laced his fingers together, flexing them as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.  
  
Bud gave a wry smile, gesturing toward the stack of paperwork he'd been slaving over. "My client discovered she was pregnant yesterday and didn't think she should warn me until she called her doctor to confirm when we recessed this afternoon. That sort of blew the whole fraternization case out of the water since a paternity test would eventually prove what I was working to disprove." he sighed. "And now I get to make sure everything is squared away with all of this paperwork."  
  
"Mac dump all of this on you and skip town?" he asked, wondering how she had managed to sweet-talk Bud into making sense out of all this alone.  
  
"Technically, you dumped all of this on me first," Bud said, then registering what he had just said to a senior officer, his face flushed, and he managed to add on a quick, "Sir."  
  
Harm laughed at Bud's unease. "That may be technically true, but for one thing, it's not my fault your client turned out to be pregnant. And secondly, Mac should have taken over the case when my orders changed, but she chose to stay second chair."  
  
"Speaking on those two subjects, you'll never believe what I heard Tiner and Gunny discussing over donuts this morning."  
  
Harm tried to put together what he had just said in order to figure out what sort of tangent Bud was going off on. His brows knit together in a puzzled expression as Bud continued animatedly with his anecdote. "Pregnancy rumors are running rampant for some strange reason, and those two have gotten it into their heads that you and the Colonel."  
  
Bud finally looked at his superior and trailed off the second realization hit, manifesting itself in the shock on Harm's face.  
  
".and this is none of my business, sir. Forget I said anything."  
  
It took a moment for Harm to regain the ability to speak. He knew it wasn't true, but if Mac had gotten involved with someone. His head was repeatedly telling him to write off what he had just heard as an unsubstantiated rumor. He and Mac had finally gotten back into a relationship where they felt comfortable sharing everything with each other again, and he knew she would have mentioned if she was seeing someone, especially if it were serious enough that she could be pregnant. Snapping back to reality, Harm finally said what he had initially come to ask Bud. "Do you know where Mac is, Bud?"  
  
"She went in to see the Admiral as soon as we got out of court. I think she left for the day. She wanted to get some things done this afternoon because I think she said she had plans this evening." Bud paused. "Sir, about what I said that I overheard."  
  
"Forget it, Bud," Harm said off-handedly as he turned to leave.  
  
"It's forgotten, sir. Oh, and tell the Colonel she owes me for this," Bud told him sourly as he reached for the papers yet to be completed. Harm shook his head as he made his exit. During the short walk back to his office, he puzzled over whom Mac could possibly have made plans with that night and why she hadn't mentioned it to him.  
  
  
  
2247 Zulu  
  
Mac's Apartment  
  
Georgetown  
  
"Hello?" Mac answered the phone.  
  
"What are you up to tonight, birthday girl?"  
  
Mac smiled as she recognized Harm's voice on the other line. "Not much. I thought I'd take advantage of a quiet night in my apartment to catch up on some reading."  
  
"That doesn't sound too exciting, but it's your day."  
  
"I'm glad you realize that," she laughed. "I feel so special-roses and two ship-to-shore calls for my birthday. Am I spoiled or what?"  
  
"I don't think it's possible to spoil a Marine." There was a companionable silence before Harm spoke again. "Well, I just wanted to say happy birthday again. I wish I could be there."  
  
"Me too," she said softly.  
  
"I'll talk to you when I get back. Good night, Mac."  
  
"Night, Harm."  
  
No sooner had she clicked off the phone than she realized she hadn't asked when he would be back. She smiled as she realized that meant that he'd just have to call again. She had just picked her book back up when she heard a knock at the door. Setting the book down, she stretched out her legs and stood up. She walked barefoot over to the door, wondering who it could be. She looked through the peephole and grinned.  
  
"What are you doing back so soon?" Mac exclaimed happily as she opened the door of her apartment to allow Harm to enter. She gave him a big hug.  
  
"You want me to leave already? I thought you'd be happy to see me," he grinned as he hugged her back with one arm as he balanced two pizza boxes with the other. He released her so that he could set down the pizzas and noticed the half dozen roses arranged in a glass vase in the middle of the coffee table. He grabbed his cell phone off the top of the boxes and slipped it into the pocket of his flight jacket. Turning back to Mac, he lowered his voice, "I hope you don't mind me surprising you. When we finished up early, I decided to pull a few strings so I could make it back for my favorite jarhead's birthday. I thought I'd see you at the office, but we kept missing each other."  
  
"I had no idea you were there. When did you get back?"  
  
"Right after you and Bud left to get ready for court. Then I missed you getting out of court because I was out working on a new case. You had to choose today of all days to leave early! But I decided to pick up a few pizzas when I got off work in the hopes that you'd be doing something boring. You confirmed over the phone that you were, so here I am to liven up this party," he said mischievously, mentally crossing his fingers in the hope that she wasn't planning on going out that evening.  
  
She hit him playfully on the arm before saying, "I appreciate the thought, but I already have plans for tonight."  
  
His face fell, but he tried to cover his disappointment as he stepped toward the door. "I understand. I should have known better, especially since Bud mentioned that you might have plans. You can just stick the pizzas in your fridge and save it for lunch tomorrow."  
  
"Or you can share your food with Mac's guest and maybe she'll let you stay," came a voice from behind him. He turned to see Chloe Madison in the kitchen doorway.  
  
Mac spoke up. "That would be the surprise I mentioned to you this morning. My little sister is here for Thanksgiving break. We're having a 'girl's only' night for my birthday."  
  
"But since you brought food, I guess I'll let you stick around," Chloe said matter-of-factly. "Give me a sec to check on my cake. I'll dig up some plates while I'm in the kitchen."  
  
As soon as she disappeared, Harm turned back to face his partner. "Do you mind me staying?"  
  
"It's Chloe's call, and as long as there's enough pizza for all of us, I'm happy. We hadn't decided what we were doing for dinner yet because Chloe was busy making me a cake." Mac plopped down on the sofa and opened the lid to the first pizza box. She wrinkled up he nose at the contents. "Eww. Veggie. If that's all you brought, stick boy, you might as well leave now."  
  
"Yours would be the other pizza, so stop insulting mine." He rolled his eyes as he sat down next to her. Chloe returned with paper plates and a can of Dr. Pepper. The adults watched her settle cross-legged in front of the coffee table. She snagged a slice of Mac's pizza, then popped the top of her soda can.  
  
"It was nice of you to get drinks for everyone," Mac told her.  
  
"I got it, Mac," Harm said before she could get up. "What would you like?"  
  
"Just grab a bottled water out of the fridge. Thanks." She smiled as she settled back onto the sofa. Once Harm was out of earshot, she took advantage of the opportunity to talk to her little sister. "I know we talked about the whole Mic/Harm thing earlier, but are you sure you're okay with Harm being here?"  
  
"You know I wouldn't have invited him to stay if I wasn't okay with it, so chill and enjoy the food," she said before taking a bite out of the steaming slice of pepperoni and ham pizza. Mac gave her an uncertain look, but before she could figure out whether or not to pursue the topic, a cold water bottle landed in her lap.  
  
"Jerk," she muttered just loud enough for Harm to hear as he sat down with his Diet Coke and a slice of veggie pizza. He purposely ignored the jab, and the three of them chatted intermittently while they worked on polishing off the two pizzas. Once Chloe was finished, she excused herself to go frost the cake.  
  
"Do you need some help, Chloe?" Mac called out to her after five minutes.  
  
Chloe reappeared at the entrance to the kitchen a moment later with a chocolate-covered spatula in her hand. "You can't frost your own birthday cake." She gave Mac an incredulous look before turning back into the kitchen.  
  
"I guess she told you," Harm snickered.  
  
"Laugh it up, flyboy," she shot back defensively.  
  
"Okay, I'll be nice since it's your birthday and everything," he smiled. "By the way, you'll never guess what Gunny and Tiner were spreading around at JAG HQ today."  
  
"Do I really want to know what the latest office gossip is?"  
  
"Probably, since it involves you."  
  
Mac groaned. "Please say that it was something completely off-the-wall like alien abduction so that I can laugh it off when Bud asks me about it."  
  
"No such luck. Apparently Tiner overheard the cleaning lady remark that someone at JAG was pregnant because they found a positive pregnancy test while cleaning out the women's restroom."  
  
Mac automatically got defensive. "And they automatically assumed it was me?"  
  
"Calm down, Mac. I was a little shocked when Bud told me what he'd overheard, especially since I was the one pegged as the father. Since I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it wasn't true, I went straight to the source. You were not their first choice. I think that was Harriet because she called in sick."  
  
"Because she had an upset stomach due to bad spinach dip," Mac said, thinking back to her encounter with Harriet at lunch. "So I was second choice?"  
  
"Gunny overheard you tell me on the phone that you had a surprise for me when I got back."  
  
Mac actually laughed at that. "Not that sort of surprise! Geez. I hope you set them straight, sailor, because they don't want me to dressing them down!"  
  
"Let me just say that they won't be assuming that you're pregnant again any time soon," he grinned. "But by far, the best theory they came up with was Singer-Gunny has seen her at his favorite bar several times. Apparently, she goes there to get drunk and pick up guys when she's having a bad day."  
  
Mac's eyes widened in surprise before she laughed out loud. "Little Miss 'I want to be the first female JAG' and is the queen of one night stands? Who would have thought?"  
  
"I prefer not to think about it, so can we change the subject please?"  
  
"Only if you go check on Chloe for me to make sure that my kitchen isn't a complete disaster area. I'm not allowed in there, remember?" she requested sweetly.  
  
"Anything for you. just promise me no 'surprises' when I get back," he admonished.  
  
"Harm?" she called out to him when he was almost to the kitchen. He turned around to see her standing with a throw pillow under her sweatshirt. She was desperately trying not to laugh as she choked out the words, "I think my water just broke. Can you drive me to the hospital?"  
  
******  
  
August 23, 2001 - November 29, 2001 


End file.
